Proper Sunday Dress

[Gina B]

Ok, we have a snow ball headed down hill now so let's go a little further. This one lady see's all the other ladies wearing pants so she decides to wear shorts, after all the pastor has learn't to avert his eyes, no harm will come of it. God knows i just want to be comfortable as i can be and enjoy fellowship with everyone. My question is where does it all end ?

Shorts lead to bathing suits, then that leads to just going nude, then people start taking their skin off, then we all just die.

And it didn't even start with pants. It started with gouchos and it all went downhill from there.

I personally prefer those skirts with the things that stick out a mile from your rear end to make the back pouf way out. They're so practical and a MUST for when one wants to stand close to a fire and toast marshmallows.

 

[TadQueasy]

Wow this thread is a hoot, a hoot I tell ya.
Thankful for annsni and a couple others for bringing the right perspective.

 

[michael-acts17:11]

A good tree bringeth forth good fruit, a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit, by their fruit's ye shall know them. By the way that scripture is wrote in red.

The Pharisees, those legalists of Christ's day who sought to enslave men to their own laws in the name of God, were the most condemned group by Christ in the Word. Your tree is bringing forth rules for others that cannot be found in written text of Scripture. What does that say about you? By your fruit of man-made laws forced upon Scripture, you are known.

 

[salzer mtn]

To him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

 

[Don]

To him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

 

[saturneptune]

Hanging my head in shame and packing away the crockpot....

And you can mail the fine for the sin to my address which I will be glad to supply. Considering these are snow pants, have a certain degree of tightness, and it is the middle of winter, that will come to $1454.65. Of course you can count on the fact I will give 10% back to the church.

 

[saturneptune]

I guess in your oppinion the scripture that i put up is all legalism. I guess you would rip out all scripture from the bible that has to do with how a christian should act, how a christian should dress. Are you people Antinomians ?

No, but we did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[saturneptune]

I guess people can come up with different points of views to suit their own life styles but the bottom line is, it is scripture that should guide.

Having read the Bible through several times, I do not recall anywhere in Scrpitrue that speaks of the ideas you have presented. First of all, the vast majority of dress standards is set by the local church. Most people who bother to go to church to worship and praise the Lord, wear the proper clothing. As long as it is clean and modest, what is it to you what they wear? Is someone is wearing an immodest article of clothing, why does that bother you? If you are worshiping and paying attention to the sermon, why would the thought even enter your mind?

I go to church to worship, learn the Bible, fellowship, encourage others, and help others. My purpose in attending is not to show off to others how many rules I can memorize. IMO, ideas such as this thread should not even cross one's mind while in a frame of mind to worship.

 

[saturneptune]

To him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Again, if this is what one is thinking about during a service, then it is a waste of time and gas to even have attended. I am not scanning the congregation pew by pew to analyze clothing. Even in a worse case senario at church, say there is a young woman with a very low cut blouse or v neck, then yes, any man is going to notice. It might be a distraction for a fraction of a second. The idea is to look away, not stare or sit in the pew rerunning the scene. Once you look away, you get your mind back on the Lord. It is not that difficult, and certainly not worthy of taking up time from a worship service.

The more something like that worries someone, the more tempted they will be. That is the proper male Christian response. Of course, all males are wired to be attracted to such scenes, it is what makes males and females attracted to each other. I would think something wrong with a male that something like that did not get his attention.

And certainly, in the above example, a female church member should say something to the person wearning such a blouse, but there is certainly no purpose in making a Congressional Act of the situation.

As has been pointed out in many posts, some folks cannot afford clothing that you might think is a minimum standard of wearing to church. I think as you correctly pointed out, anyone can wear clean clothes. The other factor is modesty. However, things like pants on women, suits, ties, dress pants, whatever type shoes, have nothing to do with modesty.

 

[Oldtimer]

Again, if this is what one is thinking about during a service, then it is a waste of time and gas to even have attended.

Well said. :thumbsup:

As a layman, if a couple come to church wearing a speedo and a g-string & tassels, that should only generate a momentary response of surprise (etc.) before returning my eyes and heart back to the cross.

Again, as a layman, if I dwell on their attire instead of the reason I came to church, I may be committing a greater sin in the eyes of God, than those with immodest apparel.

 

[Mexdeaf]

I guess in your oppinion the scripture that i put up is all legalism. I guess you would rip out all scripture from the bible that has to do with how a christian should act, how a christian should dress. Are you people Antinomians ?

No, we just don't read into Scripture as it appears you do. Many of us have stated the Scriptural principle, which is modesty. You reject that, wanting to apply your own standard.

(I'm out. Vacation's over. Been fun. God bless!)

 

[salzer mtn]

No, we just don't read into Scripture as it appears you do. Many of us have stated the Scriptural principle, which is modesty. You reject that, wanting to apply your own standard.

(I'm out. Vacation's over. Been fun. God bless!)

It is very plan to me that the (many of us) you describe love a liberal church setting. You reject scripture for carnel reasoning, your many of us people think your education which puffs your flesh up with pride excludes you from being tempted by the tempter. You accuse me of being a legalist and make jokes because i believe there are standards in the bible that are to be applied for a christians to have a testimony in appearance. By the testimonies of some i have read on hear your vacations are spent on the beach where the woman sasha around nearly in the nude, but oh! the pastor averts his eyes, i know because as the pastors wife i look at him to make sure he does. So keep on your broad way and keep opening the door to temptation, it will catch you somewhere down the highway.

 

[Don]

Salzer -- I know there are a lot of posts you're trying to keep up with; but I still have to ask: are you ignoring mine, or just didn't see them?

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

The church I attend services at has a main section & a choir loft where you can go in overflow situations. Since I dont attend SS, I usually come in a little late & go strait to the loft upstairs. Up there we have people who generally dont fit into the BMW & SUV Soccer Mom & Dad crowd....like younger people, single parent moms & kids, college students & me.

Obviously there are reasons (probably social) where these loft groups do not fit in....& my point is that you DO generally see it in the clothing. Rather than the typical suit & tie crowd, we wear jeans, sandals, tee shirts, etc Ive also seen a real disconnect between the main body of church people & the loft dwellers.

Im not sure if the church is even conscience of it happening but there must be a social implication here that doesnt get addressed.

If the Church elders & Clergy were to dress down, lets say to a business casual level (dockers & polo shirts) would it cause a rift among the Navy Blue Jacket w/ gold buttons crowd & then would the Loft dwellers (who appear to want to keep a safe distance), would they be more inclined to feel more comfortable & mingle?

 

[salzer mtn]

Salzer -- I know there are a lot of posts you're trying to keep up with; but I still have to ask: are you ignoring mine, or just didn't see them?

I'm not ignoring them but what's the point. I put a post on here describing how a person can take the advantage of a situation like going from pants to shorts and where does it all end. The only replies i get is, it ends with common sinse and it ends with them finally taking off their flesh and death. I came out of a Antinomian church a couple of years ago where they believe, live as you like because their are no laws to bind you. And you can believe me, they all lived a loose life style and condemned me because i wouldn't pertake of their evil deeds. I have heard the pastor say in the pulpit lots of times, I will not let myself be condemned by my concience if i sin because i am not under the law but under grace. The scripture says, A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have seen woman at church wearing their low cut dresses that left little to the imagination, that had no shame whatsoever. Don't look say some, do i have to be exposed to such carnality when all i want to do is go worship God ? If people don't have respect for themselves they should have respect for others. No where in the bible does it mention low cut dresses or mini skirts or hot pants but like i said give some people a inch and they will take a mile.

 

[mont974x4]

You are totally misrepresenting what people are saying.
We believe there is sin. We believe there is a biblical standard. We reject legalism, which is drawing lines in the sand where God Himself does not draw them. It is taking personal convictions and trying to make them normative for all people.

If your conviction is to not wear pants then don't wear pants. I would urge you to live according to that conviction because to not do so is sin for you. I would also urge you to not try to force your conviction on others because to do so is sin.

We do not have an either/or situation when it comes to dress. Men and women should both dress modestly AND men and women should also control their eyes and thoughts.

Keep in mind the clothing is subjective. What is modest in one culture (even a subculture) is not modest in another.

I would suggest a rereading of Col 2 and Rom 14 as a good place to start.

 

[Monster]

I believe churches are focused on the outward appearance because they don't have the depth to address matters of the heart. Topical sermons, hellfire & brimstone preaching, and emotional worship services do nothing to grow the spiritual or Biblical maturity of believers. Pharisaism is alive & well in the U.S.; thriving in churches all across the nation.

Concise. Well stated and to the point.:thumbs:

Edited to add that I find the whole issue to be heart wrenching.

 

[Gina B]

Despite the joking, I do understand the point.

Male or female, a person can't dress provocatively and then blame everyone else if they stumble.

Someone who has issues will stumble no matter what you wear, but even the best of people often will be led to such and it's silly to expect someone made of flesh and blood to not react in a human way when faced with someone dressed inappropriately, although a lot (to their credit) just see it as nasty instead.

Since we ARE humans and we do have different cultures and dress styles throughout the world, I guess it's up to us to draw that non-existent line. Not as a rule or law, but what's the problem in having a repeat offender asked to cover it up? It doesn't help to just say "don't look." In fact, ask any teenage boy in a church if that has done ANYTHING but make him stare more and constantly think about it. Well, it may not be admitted as teens, but they will as adults.

But PANTS? Why is this just a woman thing? Why should women not wear pants? A guy has a lot more to be seen when wearing pants. Why is it less provocative for a woman to wear skirts (known as easy access clothes by most teens and often by criminals) and less provocative for men to wear pants?

I don't get it. Do you know how attractive a man is in a well fitted, decent suit vs a woman in a pantsuit? HMMM? (okay, that's coming from the point of a woman so maybe it doesn't count...)

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Originally Posted by michael-acts17:11 View Post
I believe churches are focused on the outward appearance because they don't have the depth to address matters of the heart. Topical sermons, hellfire & brimstone preaching, and emotional worship services do nothing to grow the spiritual or Biblical maturity of believers. Pharisaism is alive & well in the U.S.; thriving in churches all across the nation.

God, I really wish you were right because Im tired of pounding down coffee & taking a hand full of NO-DOSE before I listen to another boring fluff sermon that I couldn't care less about. Truly whats the sense of going? I could sleep better at home.

 

[mont974x4]

Gina, your post made me think about the word "modest"?
How are we defining that?

Is it meant to just mean non-skimpy clothing?
I don't think so.


A $1500 3 piece suit is not skimpy, but it would not be modest either, IMO.